Business Administration, Accelerated General Specialization, MBA

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Master of Business Administration

Description of Program

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) includes exposure to a variety of business disciplines. Students in this program will critically analyze a broad range of theories, current trends, practices, and knowledge specific to their discipline.

Program Learning Outcomes

The program learning outcomes for the Master of Business Administration degree are:

Evaluate the health of an organization
Effectively communicate - in media appropriate to purpose, occasion and audience - ideas and arguments associated with business issues
Evaluate the challenges and opportunities presented by the global business environment
Evaluate legal compliance, ethical concerns of stakeholders, and social responsibility in terms of their impact on the conduct of business
Deliver effective business solutions

Basis for Admissions

Admission to the Master of Business Administration program requires a conferred bachelor’s and/or a conferred master’s or doctoral degree from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution (including the NCU BBA degree). In addition to these general requirements, MBA applicants have two options for entering the program:

Direct Entry - Individuals with a previously completed bachelor’s degree in business from a regionally or nationally accredited academic institution may immediately begin the MBA program.

Note: Students who complete NCU’s BBA bridge path in Business Management may be eligible to apply four graduate-level courses from the BBA program to the MBA program. Graduate-level courses completed in the BBA bridge path must be completed with a grade point average of 3.0 (grade of “B”) or better.

Evaluation Track - Individuals who do not meet direct entry requirements will begin their degree plan with MBA5102-8 - Welcome to Changing Times - Business in the 21st Century , followed by SKS5001-8 - Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies , and upon successful completion of SKS 5001-8 take the remaining courses in their degree plan.

Students who feel that they have the business background and knowledge are allowed to take a test-out exam that covers the major business areas. The student must score 70 or above on the exam and can be taken no later than two weeks prior to the beginning of SKS5001-8 - Comprehensive Strategic Knowledge Studies course. This can be discussed with your enrollment or student academic advisor.

Students who enter through the evaluation track and do not immediately test out of SKS 5001-8 prior to having the course placed in their degree plan are not permitted to participate in the Accelerated MBA program.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Business Administration requires 30 credit hours for degree completion. The MBA program includes 18 credit hours of foundational courses. The foundational courses are taken by all students regardless of their undergraduate degree to form and strengthen fundamental business skills. The next 9 credit hours in the program encapsulate a specialization aligned with a student’s career goals and interests. Elective courses must be appropriate to the student’s degree program. Students end the program with a 3 credit-hour capstone course.

Students in the MBA program are required to demonstrate competency in the areas listed below:

Research - MBA students are required to show competency in writing skills for research purposes through their Northcentral University coursework.
Computer Competency - MBA students are required to use appropriate computer skills that are necessary in writing research papers. Students must be able to prepare documents using APA formatting and advanced word processing skills, such as the creation of title pages, abstracts, tables and figures, headers and footers, page breaks, tables of contents, and hanging indents.

Students assume full responsibility for understanding both the foundational, specialization, and capstone requirements of the program. Switching programs after completing coursework may result in reevaluation, monetary loss, loss of credit hours and/or the need to take additional credit hours. Students’ Academic Advisors can assist with any questions related to program requirements.

The University may accept a maximum of 12 semester credit hours in transfer toward the Master of Business Administration for graduate course work completed at an external accredited college or university with a grade of “B” or better. See the Transfer Credit Policy for additional information.

Note: Students with a conferred BBA degree from NCU who complete graduate-level coursework with a grade of “B” or better to satisfy undergraduate specialization credit hours may be eligible to apply up to 12 graduate-level credit hours from the BBA program to the MBA program. Please see the Bachelor of Business Administration program for program-specific course requirements.

Time to Completion

Northcentral University allows 5 years to complete all 30 credit hour master’s programs.

Normal time to completion for this program is 41 months.

Time to completion varies depending upon the pace in which a student completes courses and the number of transfer credits accepted. As most Northcentral students are working adults balancing educational, professional, and personal commitments, our academic advisors will work with you to develop a program schedule that works best for your needs.

The normal time disclosed above reflects the experience of students who may have entered under different program requirements. In the quest for continuous improvement, academic leadership has revised the program to optimize curriculum and pace, facilitate student learning, and improve chances for success. Therefore, the program is now designed for students enrolling today to take advantage of these revised course structures, lengths, and schedules. New students following the preferred schedule designed by the Dean for this program, and applying no transfer credits, can expect to finish in as little as 16 months.

Course Sequence

Students who complete at least 9 semester credit hours in a single area of specialization at Northcentral University (not counting foundational courses) may elect to have the specialization recorded on their transcript and diploma. A specialization is not required and students may elect 9 credit hours of cross-discipline business courses. Elective courses must be appropriate to the student’s degree program.

All Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs require the following fundamental courses be taken prior to enrolling in specialization courses:

Required Foundational Courses must be taken first and in sequence. Evaluation track students will take SKS 5001-8 after MBA 5102-8 and before MBA 5110-8 .

Required Foundational Courses – 18 credit hours

Accelerated MBA Program

Within the MBA program, the School of Business and Technology Management offers an Accelerated MBA scheduling track. The Accelerated MBA is not an alternative program, but is a scheduling option designed for students capable of completing an intense, fast-paced and highly challenging graduate course structure. Students considering the Accelerated MBA track are strongly encouraged to first think about their availability for study-time, work schedule or any other outside activities that may interfere with course participation, and their ability to learn in a rapidly moving academic environment. Students who enter and successfully complete the Accelerated MBA track will graduate in 12 months with a Master of Business Administration degree.

Like the non-Accelerated MBA, students are required to complete 30 credit hours, which include 18 credit hours of foundation course work, 9 credit hours of specialization course, and a 3 credit hour program capstone course. The second course, MBA 5110-8 , is staggered four weeks following the start of the first course, MBA 5102-8 . The last course in the Accelerated MBA track, MBA 6010-8 , starts four weeks following the start of MGT 5002-8 . All other courses are taken in pairs (see course schedule).

Students who start in the Accelerated MBA track may reschedule their courses and continue their studies in the non-Accelerated MBA track. Students who opt out of the Accelerated MBA track, regardless of reason, will not be permitted back into the Accelerated track and will lose any promotional benefits, which may have been in effect at the time of initial enrollment.

Any student transferring out of the Accelerated MBA track into the non-Accelerated MBA or vise-versa must work with his or her assigned Academic Advisor to complete the process. Students in the non-Accelerated MBA can only transfer into the Accelerated MBA track within the first four weeks of the first course.

Students who fail a course in the Accelerated MBA are immediately dismissed from the Accelerated track and must transfer to the non-Accelerated track if they want to continue in the MBA program. Academic Leaves of Absences (ALOAs) are not permitted in the Accelerated MBA track. Students who require an ALOA may request one with the understanding that they must move to the non-Accelerated track upon their return.